Dawn Of A New Era

A ‘universal’ computer memory that handles the world’s increasing hunger for data and consumes ultra-low energy is right here.

MEMORY TECHNOLOGIES used in computers and other electronic devices have evolved enormously over the past decades and done their respective jobs well, but there are problems and limitations. Now that the genuinely high-speed 5G network is set to take off globally, a tsunami of data is bound to be consumed, and the search for a new type of computer memory has gone into overdrive. The requirements are clear – it must be superfast, non-volatile (can retrieve stored data after power cycles) and should consume very little energy. This may sound too good to be true – after all, data-guzzling gadgets are expected to consume one-fifth of global power by 2025. However, scientists at the Lancaster University seem to have found the perfect solution. Their memory device has been quickly patented, thus underlining its potential.